Good afternoon! I spent the weekend watching the nephews. My husband and I got a bunch of Nerf guns, left them outside with a sign saying “choose your weapons” and then went mano a mano with the boys. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. The most Chicago thing ever happened 20 years ago — an airport was bulldozed overnight

The surprise destruction of Meigs Field holds a special place in Chicago’s lore, an astonishing moment that symbolized the city’s bare-knuckled politics and then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s iron grip on power at City Hall.

Daley “made it clear who ran the city when he ordered the destruction of Meigs Field on Northerly Island without alerting the City Council, the statehouse or the Federal Aviation Administration,” writes my colleague Courtney Kueppers.

While the demolition of Meigs Field may be fading from the city’s collective memory, historians and political experts say it should be a reminder of the need to have checks and balances on mayoral power.

“It was seen as a dictatorial ploy by the mayor to get his way,” said Dick Simpson, a former alderman who is a political science professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago. “This was the first big move of simply doing what he wanted to do.” [WBEZ]

2. We’re heading into the final week of Chicago’s runoff election

We are just days away from the April 4 election, and the race between Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson to become the city’s next mayor appears to be close.

Both candidates on Thursday will appear at a forum hosted by WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times and the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.

The forum, which will be moderated by Reset host Sasha-Ann Simons, is free and will begin at 6 p.m. at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at UChicago. If you can’t attend in person, the forum will be streamed online. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin endorsed Vallas over the weekend, saying the former schools chief will “be a bridge to uniting the good people in this city.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

And the Rev. Al Sharpton appeared with Johnson at an election rally in West Garfield Park. [Chicago Sun-Times]

3. Gun arrests are up in Chicago. So why aren’t shootings decreasing?

City officials have long argued that getting guns off the street will help solve Chicago’s stubbornly high level of violence, resulting in authorities focusing on possession crimes.

But “these tactics have not substantially reduced shootings in Chicago,” reports The Marshall Project. “In fact, as possession arrests skyrocketed, shootings increased, but the percentage of shooting victims where someone was arrested in their case declined.”

The nonprofit newsroom reviewed nearly 300 arrest reports to understand the tactics police use to find guns.

Among their findings is that police made more than 38,000 arrests for illegal gun possession between 2010 to 2022, with Black men paying the price for this failed war on gun violence. [WBEZ]

4. Is there a link between tornadoes and climate change?

It feels like every spring comes with at least one tornado in the Chicago area.

And that’s been on my mind a lot lately with the news coming out of the South, where at least 25 people were killed after a powerful tornado tore through parts of Mississippi and Alabama.

While years of research has shown climate change intensifies rain storms, heat waves and hurricanes, the same can’t be said for tornadoes, NPR reports.

“Scientists know that warm weather is a key ingredient in tornadoes and that climate change is altering the environment in which these kinds of storms form,” the station reports.

“But they can’t directly connect those dots, as the research into the link between climate and tornadoes still lags behind that of other extreme weather events such as hurricanes and wildfire.” [NPR]

5. Americans are dying at younger ages than people in other wealthy nations

At age 40, I’m past the midway point of the U.S. life expectancy of 76 years old. What a great time to be alive.

The nation’s falling life expectancy is getting more attention as research shows the maternal mortality reached a new high in 2021 and mortality rates are rising among U.S. children and adolescents, reports NPR.

So what’s behind this troubling dynamic? Are we just not eating well or is there something about the U.S. that’s bad for your health?

As NPR reports: “Yes, Americans eat more calories and lack universal access to health care. But there’s also higher child poverty, racial segregation, social isolation, and more. Even the way cities are designed makes access to good food more difficult.” [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• Authorities say a 28-year-old woman suspected of killing at least three children and three adults at a Nashville grade school was a former student. [AP]
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he will delay a controversial plan to overhaul Israel’s judiciary. [AP]
• A major hospital group in Chicago dropped its mask requirement today. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Here’s an early look at Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn in the upcoming Joker sequel. [Hollywood Reporter]
  

Oh, and one more thing …

I am wearing my camo Crocs in the newsroom as I read that sales of the slip-on shoes are up nearly 200% since 2019, reports The New York Times.

“I roll into the gym with my Crocs on and everything, and people ask, ‘Aren’t you going to change shoes?’ ” one recent convert told the newspaper. “No, this is how I’m going to live life for now.”

Crocs saw a surge in popularity during the pandemic that hasn’t faded, with its stock soaring 167% since January 2020. [New York Times]

Tell me something good …

The “road construction season” is upon us, as you can tell from the traffic on the Kennedy. How do you cope with traffic headaches? Do you turn to podcasts and, if so, which ones?

Feel free to email me. And let me know if you’d like to be included in an upcoming report on how people are handling recent traffic disruptions.